Northrop Grumman announced Wednesday that flight testing has commenced with new computing hardware and communications gear that will bolster the B-2 stealth bomber’s connectivity. A B-2 test aircraft stationed at Edwards AFB, Calif., has been flying with this equipment since Sept. 1, according to the company. This gear, which includes a new integrated processing unit, disk drive, and fiberoptic cables, is the first increment of the B-2’s extremely high frequency satellite communications upgrade. Northrop announced in March that it had begun installing this equipment on the aircraft. The EHF upgrade comprises three increments of varying complexity. When the upgrade is complete, the B-2 will be able to send and receive battlefield information by satellite more than 100 times faster than it can today, stated the company.
B-21 Temporary Shelters Could Also Shelter B-2s
March 5, 2021
The Air Force's experimental runway shelter for the new B-21 bomber is large enough to cover it or the B-2, and therefore reveals no information about the dimensions of the new aircraft. Two such shelters will be evaluated, but the maker of the second version hasn't been chosen, yet.